Changing perspectives on age beliefs — Dr Kay Patterson

Ageism is one of the most prevalent and tolerated forms of prejudice, making it a significant problem in Australian society.

Ageism — particularly against older adults — is so deeply ingrained in our societal norms and values that it can be difficult to recognise within ourselves and our surroundings.

Even so-called ‘benevolent’ or well-intentioned ageism can be harmful, such as making decisions on behalf of older people, or the belief that older adults should always be offered help regardless of their actual needs or preference.

These attitudes are often driven by sympathy and compassion but the assumption that older adults are vulnerable and in need of constant assistance can be limiting and disempowering and lead to older individuals internalising and coming to believe the stereotype others hold about them.

What if there was a simple intervention that could help break down these attitudes?

In fact, our new report shows that ageism might be one of the easiest prejudices to shift. We surveyed aged care and community workers about their attitudes to age and ageing before and after doing an educational workshop, and the results were very encouraging.

When we first surveyed the workers, we found they were already somewhat less ageist than the general population. So, we were particularly pleased that levels of ageism dropped significantly further after a single 2.5-hour workshop which looked at age beliefs, busted some myths about older people and allowed participants to share experiences and brainstorm changes they could easily implement in their own workplace.

The results were unaffected by whether participants attended a face-to-face or an online workshop, which is good news for flexible delivery options.

Post-workshop focus group discussions further indicated that participants had taken various actions because of the workshop, eg, changing the way they interact with older adults, adopting new work practices or approaches, sharing the learnings with others, and calling out ageism in their workplace and community. This led to a ripple effect where participants talked to colleagues, clients and friends, so benefits continue to spread after the session.

And our follow-up testing three months later found that the changes had persisted. Responses about changes in behaviour revealed that the workshop served as a catalyst for positive changes in the vast majority of respondents’ thoughts and behaviour. For example:

• 90% reported rethinking the way they communicate with older adults
• 87% had discussed ageism with others
• 86% actively considered actions they could initiate to address ageist attitudes in their workplace
• 82% reconsidered their attitudes towards ageing.
   

One thing to note — we were only considering benevolent (not hostile) ageism. Intentional, hostile ageism is differently motivated and requires more complex and tailored interventions.

We’re not saying that a single intervention is enough to make even well-intentioned ageist beliefs magically disappear. Ageism is rife throughout society and underpins many common behaviours. But we are encouraged that a single intervention can do so much to start and sustain the process, with demonstrated benefits for workers and their older clients.

What is ageism? How we think, feel and act towards others (and ourselves) based on age. World Health Organization, 2021

Those interested can read the report here: https://humanrights.gov.au/changingperspectives. To find out more about the workshop and how it might work for your team, please email the AHRC research director, Joanna Maxwell, on [email protected].

Top image: Dr Kay Patterson.